Strangefruit

There is a strangefruit that grows in the trees of New York:

I call it plastic bag fruit. I also hear it is an and coming invasive species bound to take over Richmond if we do not eradicate plastic bag fruit from our streets and retail stores!!!

Diatribes aside, I love New York, and they have some pretty crafty recycling tricks I wish Richmond would adapt. For example, at least one of the restaurants I ate at had a recycling bin for bottles and cans. Where are these in Richmond? Why can't this be required of every bar and restaurant in the city. Is it too much of a burden to ask businesses to simply provide a recycling bin for customers that the city will pick up? Sure some places will have more volume, but it doesnt take any more energy to dump in in a trash bin, than it does to separate the bottles and put them in a separate bin.

On a personal note, I have thrown many things away in New York. I am sorry, but in Richmond I will be much more stricter. I think I will need to comb the streets back home for recyclables to make up for my trash transgressions. I guess I'm the half assed trashless man. It's tough, but it is apparent I didn't plan enough. This is a learning experience, so although I technically failed my resolution, I will still struggle to keep it.

Live from NY, Its the Trashless traveler, sort of

I arrived on the China Bus at 6AM this morning and spent the day walking the city alone. The picture is the Shakespeare statue in Central Park.

I admit, I threw three things away to day. This morning before sunrise I sought refuge in a Chinese bakery, and I ordered a croissant and a black bean cake. And a small coffee. I wasted the cup and the bean cake wrapper. I was too out of it really to force my self to hold on to it.

Thankfully I managed to spend the rest of the day with a little more restraint, except for the wrapper my hot nuts came in in the Park. I really am mad at myself that I let so simple small things slip by, but at the time I just didn't want to deal with it.

I seriously feel like I am in a foreign country, its surreal.

Speaking of surreal, the MoMA is freaking awesome!

Okay back to the trash, I will be more disciplined tonight I promise, I think I will have to drink drafts instead of bottles with my hosts tonight.

Big Recycling Day before Big Apple trip.

I finally got around to taking the rest of the recycling from the apartment to the drop off behind the Science Museum.

It was quite a bit:





























I am left with a few "undesirable" non-recyclable items that I will have to either hold on to for a year or reuse somehow. Any ideas?














On a more interesting note, I am taking the China bus to New York City tonight, and will be back Sunday. I will be doing my damnedest not to come back with any trash.

Personal Failures

Today started well, but I had a major failure. Had dinner at Superstar's Pizza, and had to deal with a paper plate, a plastic wrapped plastic fork, knife, and napkin with a paper wrapped packet of salt and another of pepper. I had it all set aside to take with me, when one of the employees swiped everything off my table. I told him not to take it but he assured me it wasn't a problem .

I felt myself shrink as he swiped it away, and I struggled to begin to explain what and why I was doing it, by the time I was ready, it was trashed, so I slumped back down in my seat.

So, I have sent the above items to knock around in a landfill for a few hundred years. Let's hope I can do better.

Despite a few rocky starts, I think I am adapting. I am certainly noticing how pervasive our trash is, but I am also observing how complacent our society is to it. It is a system, that operates out of sight and out of mind, and only when you consciously analyze every scrap of rubbish you produce do you really become aware of it. That or taking a stroll through a land fill.

Cleaning Out the Car

Wow I am stupid. I forgot to clean out my car before the new years, so now I am stuck with some "undesirable" non-recyclables, including two chip bags and two coffee cups.

I don't know what to do with them. I guess I'll hold on to them for a year before I can throw them out. Or maybe I can think of some use for them?

I got a few other things to deal with, like some bottle caps, and the wire from my chinese rice carton. Also the fortune cookie wrapper. This is not going well. I am afraid I might become a pack rat.

I have to be smarter, and more resourceful. I'm hungry and badly packaged food is calling my name, what is a trashless boy to do?

I did recycle three glass bottles, and some paper products, so that's good, and all of my undesirables so far fit in a tiny box. Let's hope I can keep it from expanding.

PS. I just got added to RVABlogs.com, so if you have no idea what this is about, please check out my first post ever.

Trash is Everywhere

And so it begins. The leftovers of consumerism. The remnants of my Chinese food meal are this. Which gives me a good idea for some wall art, it looks cool unfolded, plus you can use the metal handle as a hanging device. I suppose I will recycle this after the grease has dried.

Unfortunately I spilled some beer, and these napkins became useful. I think i can dry them out and recycle along with the brown paper Chinese food bag.
















Also I am stuck with a fortune cookie wrapper, not sure what I will do with that yet. The fortune is recyclable (which reads: "your love life will be happy and harmonious")















I washed out the un-recyclable food containers and will reuse them for carry out.

Finally I have two beer bottles to account for, and a can of sardines I had new years eve, to be recycled.















This is hard, but it is helping me think, making me conscious of my presence on this earth. Trash doesn't just disappear as easily as it appears.

Day One

Full disclosure, I'm off to a bad start. I got some Chinese food this afternoon, take out. It came in a paper bag, and two plastic containers with a big fat 5 label, which means they are not recyclable in Richmond. Which means I will be washing them and lugging them to every restaurant I get take out from for the rest of the year.

Luckily I had my own chopsticks, everyone should carry around there own set.

I do have a cardboard carton of rice as well. I suppose I will empty, flatten, and recycle, after removing the metal handle. I will have to find a use for that at some point.

One more failure, I ate at delux, (good food, I had the corn meal crusted trout with greens and sweet potato fries, and I forgot to grab my beverage nap, to recycle before I left. Please forgive me.

I also bought my ex-gf a coffee in a togo cup, but technically it isn't my trash, and I drank my espresso from the ceramic cup so I guess I made up for it.

Not to shabby I guess, but now I am figuring out if work counts towards my goal.

I work in a fan bar kitchen so 'no trash' maybe problematic. Technically it isn't my trash, so I am not going to count it against me, but I will attempt to be as efficient and nonwasteful as possible. I will have an update on how that goes.

Anyway, Happy New Year, and so far I have physically put anything in a trashcan, so, so far so good, despite a few little hiccups.